Trust, social capital, and the bond market benefits of ESG performance

Amiraslani, Hami, Lins, Karl V., Servaes, Henri and Tamayo, Ane ORCID: 0000-0001-7154-0221 (2022) Trust, social capital, and the bond market benefits of ESG performance. Review of Accounting Studies, 28 (2). 421 - 462. ISSN 1380-6653

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Abstract

We investigate whether a firm’s social capital and the trust that it engenders are viewed favorably by bondholders. Using firms’ environmental and social (E&S) performance to proxy for social capital, we find no relation between social capital and bond spreads over the period 2006–2019. However, during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, which represents a shock to trust and default risk, high-social-capital firms benefited from lower bond spreads. These effects are stronger for firms with higher expected agency costs of debt and firms whose E&S efforts are more salient. During the crisis, high-social-capital firms were also able to raise more debt, at lower spreads, and for longer maturities. We find no evidence that the governance element of ESG is related to bond spreads. The gap between E&S performance of firms in the bottom and top E&S terciles has narrowed since the financial crisis, especially in the year prior to accessing the bond market.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.springer.com/journal/11142
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Authors
Divisions:	Accounting
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting
JEL classification:	G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G21 - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages G - Financial Economics > G3 - Corporate Finance and Governance > G32 - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure G - Financial Economics > G1 - General Financial Markets > G12 - Asset Pricing; Trading volume; Bond Interest Rates M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting > M1 - Business Administration > M14 - Corporate Culture; Social Responsibility
Date Deposited:	15 Oct 2021 09:42
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 02:42
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/112448

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